Ellie Mae, a provider of enterprise level, on-demand automated solutions for the residential mortgage industry, announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the Company a patent for an advanced security model that enables managers, loan officers and processors to securely access critical loan files and documents online.  The Company now holds six patents.

The invention, U.S. Patent number 8,126,920 entitled, “Enterprise Security Management System Using Hierarchical Organization and Multiple Ownership Structure,” is a hierarchical organization and security model for networked computing.  It allows multiple ownership of system files and resources while maintaining flexibility of organizational control and strict security rules over the users.  In other words, Ellie Mae’s technology allows loan origination system and other networked computer users to access, work and collaborate securely on files and documents.  In addition, a user’s access and/or ability to make changes may be limited or controlled by members higher up in the organization or network.  For example, a lender can restrict what actions a mortgage manager can perform on loan files and documents or limit what a loan officer or processor can approve and what data and files they can access.

“As our industry migrates to cloud computing and software as a service, new opportunities and challenges for clients are being created,” said Limin Hu, Ellie Mae’s co-founder and chief technology officer.  “On one hand, this new paradigm enables greater access and efficiency within organizations and supply chains; on the other hand, it also increases the possibility of security lapses.  Our new, patented technology addresses both the productivity and security concerns of our clients, and we believe may have applications beyond the mortgage industry.”